


Placeholders

by retrogaymer



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst, Cults, F/F, Friends to Lovers, I'm Bad At Tagging, Lesbian Character, M/M, Mystery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Team as Family, Warnings May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-30
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-11 11:41:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13523529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/retrogaymer/pseuds/retrogaymer
Summary: He blinked, lifting his head for only a moment, confusion overpowering his exhaustion. The face in front of him was blurry around the edges, and his features were shrouded in shadows. Percy didn't know if he was hallucinating from being so overworked, or if it was a streetlight behind the guy that made it look like a halo was shining above his head of big, curly hair. Percy blinked, slowly, before his eyes fell shut and his head fell forward again. The last thing he heard was the voice of the guy yelling fuck.-Percy gets adopted into a house of rowdy lesbians and two weird guys. A mystery unravels as it turns out some of them have more of their past in common than previously thought, and suddenly there's a cult involved, and Percy REALLY needs to find his mom.





	1. The Gang Gets A New Housemate

Percy felt hungry, and cold, and exhausted. He stumbled slightly in his step, and then came crashing into the wall beside him, sliding down the rough concrete and ignoring the way it burned as it scraped against his cheek. He was _so_ , so tired. He hugged his legs to his chest, head falling forward, forehead resting against his knees as he panted feverishly. Then, he slipped out of consciousness.

When he slipped in again, it was _very_ brief, and to the sound of someone swearing softly as they shook his shoulders. He blinked, lifting his head for only a moment, confusion overpowering his exhaustion. The face in front of him was blurry around the edges, and his features were shrouded in shadows. Percy didn't know if he was hallucinating from being so overworked, or if it was a streetlight behind the guy that made it look like a halo was shining above his head of big, curly hair. Percy blinked, slowly, before his eyes fell shut and his head fell forward again. The last thing he heard was the voice of the guy yelling fuck.

 

**\---**

 

“ _Another_ one?”

Zoë was glaring at Grover with an unimpressed eyebrow raised, arms crossed over her chest. Grover shifted uncomfortably and looked away, hands folding around his coffee. “I couldn’t just _leave_ him there, he looked like he was knocking on heavens door.” Grover muttered, taking a sip from the cardboard cup.

Zoë groaned and rolled her eyes. “We will barely have room to walk around, if you continue being such a good samaritan.”

Grover chuckled weakly, “hey, the more the merrier, right? Maybe by the end rent will be split up to one dollar per person. That would be pretty sweet,” he huffed. Annabeth snorted from her bean bag chair, proving she _was_ paying attention past the book her nose was buried in. Grover smiled absentmindedly.

“Normally I wouldn't be caught dead saying this, but Zoë’s right. It's getting out of hand, Grover.” Luke commented, leaned against the kitchen counter. Grover huffed, then paused and narrowed his eyes slightly at Luke.

“Hey, who are you to complain? You were in his place two years ago!”

Luke opened his mouth to retaliate, but then clenched his jaw and shut it again, quickly looking away with an irritated twitch at the corner of his lips. Grover leaned back in his chair in triumph. It wasn't a lot he outsmarted Luke, but he revelled in it when he did.

“He will be staying in _your_ room,” Zoë insisted, “and if he flirts with any of my girls, he's _out_.”

Grover nodded with a smile. “Of course! Thank you, oh gracious lesbian overlord.”

She rolled her eyes and smacked at his shoulder. “Shut up, goat man.”

“Honestly, you bleat like a goat while you're laughing ONE TIME-”

“Where-… Where the fuck am I?”

Everybody's attention snapped to the doorway to Grover’s room, Grover himself nearly falling off his chair to turn around and look at the source of the voice. He was leaning against the doorframe, a confused look in his eyes, blinking and wiping at his eyes as if he was getting adjusted to the light. He probably was, since Grover had turned off the light for him in his room.

Standing up, the guy looked a little bigger than he had seemed, slumped against the wall of their triplex; he was broad-shouldered and tall, though he still only partly filled out his baggy clothes. His hair was black, curly, and currently stuck up in every direction possible, and his face was dirty and tired. Beyond the heavy bags indicating lack of sleep, Grover’s brown eyes met with two murky green ones.

Grover smiled, comfortingly. “You're safe.”

“God, that's cheesy,” Annabeth snided.

Grover shushed her, and then stood up, leaning against the table behind him. He made a mental note of how the guy flinched, listing it off as something to worry about later.

“I found you uh, sleeping outside of the bungalow. You woke up for like five seconds, and then crashed again, so I decided to take you in.” He paused, then smiled and took a step forward, extending his arm. “I'm Grover Underwood.”

The guy eyed his hand suspiciously, then let his gaze continue up his arm, staring at his face for a few moments before glancing around at the other faces in the kitchen. Annabeth had gone back to reading her book. Luke had his arms crossed and was glaring out of the window. Zoë was staring at the guy with a tight expression, hands on her hips.

He took a hesitant step forward, and then walked all the way to Grover’s arm, shaking his hand.

“I'm... Percy. Jackson.”

Grover smiled and gave his palm a squeeze before dropping it, then turned slightly to look around the room himself.

“That's Zoë Nightshade,” he gestured to the stoic woman dressed in a silver bralette and black jeans, and quickly glanced towards Percy's face to note any inappropriate reactions. There were none, just a small wave that Zoë reciprocated with a nod.

“That's Annabeth Chase,” Grover pointed to the curly-haired, double-denim clad blonde, who briefly lowered her book to look at Percy. Their eyes met, and something weird crackled between them.

“Greetings,” she said sardonically.

“Kinda weird to have a bean bag in the kitchen.”

“Kinda weird to be offered hospitality by some generous strangers and then criticize their choice of furniture.”

Percy nodded. “Touché, wise girl.”

Annabeth’s expression twitched at the name, but she didn't respond. Just rolled her eyes and went back to her book. Percy's eyes moved onto Luke, and he flinched. Grover didn't blame him; the man looked very intimidating, especially with the scar going across his face. But when Luke and Percy's eyes met, it seemed like there was… Something else. Like there was history. But that was impossible, because they were both random guys Grover had picked off the streets of New York. Right?

“Um,” Grover interrupted their random staring competition, “meet Luke Castellan.”

Percy looked hesitantly from Grover to Luke, and then nodded to him, swallowing dryly. Luke still had his arms crossed, and he shifted uncomfortably.

“Uh,” he started shakily, then cleared his throat, “did you say your last name was Jackson?”

Percy nodded. Luke looked around in the kitchen. “That's… That's a _really_ common last name, right?”

Zoë’s eyebrows furrowed. “I suppose. Is there an issue?”

Luke quickly shook his head and looked away again, his face paling.

“Dude, you're being weird. What's wrong with his name?” Grover attempted to ask in a laugh, but it mostly ended up a nervous breath.

Luke shook his head again, then pushed off from the kitchen counter. “Nothing,” he muttered, and shoved past Percy and Grover to get out of the kitchen.

Grover blinked, and looked after him.

“So,” Percy muttered, “you're all flatmates, huh?”

“Well,” Grover’s voice hit a weird, squeaky pitch, “we’re, um… We're a bit more than this.”

Percy looked around the small kitchen in surprise. “More of you can fit in here?”

“It's a long story,” Grover exhaled, and this time he did manage to laugh a little.

“It's not _really_ a long story.”

Grover shot Zoë a pointed look, but he couldn't hold back a smile. “Come here, I'll show you,” he went to grab Percy's elbow, but the young man flinched away from him. Grover blinked, then smiled apologetically. “Sorry- just follow me!” He made towards one of the living rooms, and Percy did as told. Until they actually reached the space, and Percy froze abruptly, staring at the walls in disbelief. Grover chuckled a little. “Yeah. So, most of the household is out working or asleep right now, but,” Grover gestured to the large holes on either side of the living room wall, both leading to similar rooms. “This is what unites us all.”

They were identical in structure, yet decorated differently; the one they were in right now looked the most like an _actual_ living room, with a large table and some mismatched chairs around it, a sofa in the corner and a bookshelf beside it. What was abnormal, living-room wise, was the splattered paint on several surfaces, and the holed or scraped or otherwise damaged walls. The room to the right was more lounge-y, both a ping pong and pool table occupying the space with bean bags scattered around, and a long table against the far wall usually used as a snack and drink station. The other room, the one on the left, contained their only shared tv and speaker and their most comfortable couch, and was otherwise full of futons and scattered blankets and pillows. A constant between all three of the rooms was dirty laundry on the floor, scattered socks and shirts and bras.

“So, uh, the original tenants of this here middle building was me and my friend Juniper,” Grover started, and Percy turned to face him again from where he had been staring at a paint boob print on the wall. “Zoë lived in the left building, but her roommates changed all the time. Still do. She organizes a lot of protests, and she's kind of the safe house for a lot of women. She's got one permanent roomie now, though. Bianca- Bianca di Angelo. I think. Don't quote me on that,” Grover snorted, then turned to the right hole. “Over there is Silena Beauregard and Clarisse La Rue- and more girls, their roomies change all the time too. I think they have a lot of couch surfer friends.”

Percy nodded, slowly. “Uh. Right. How did, um,” he gestured to the holes in the walls, “how did that whole thing happen?”

“Really, I barely remember,” Grover snickered, “we cooperated on a house party and it got… Intense.”

“So intense you tore down your _walls?_ ”

“Clarisse and Zoë get really fired up when they're drunk.”

“Oh my god.” Percy paled, and Grover laughed.

“Yeah. Don't upset the lesbians. That goes for the whole apartment, actually.”

“They're _all_ lesbians?” Percy said, in awe. Grover paused in thought.

“Well- Annabeth might be bi, now that I think about it,” he paused, “and, yeah, I can't imagine Zoë wouldn't take in bi girs too. So, maybe a few aren't. But don't get the wrong idea- nobody enters this house for the men.”

Percy snorted a little. “You know, I can understand that.”

Grover raised an eyebrow. “Is that a jab at me and Luke, specifically, or like, all men in general?” He paused, “both are correct.”

Percy laughed. Grover really liked that sound. “Speaking of, though,” Percy paused, “who was Luke and Annabeth living with? You?”

Grover shook his head. “Actually… They moved in the same way as you, along with one other girl. Thalia Grace.”

Percy blinked. “You really have a knack for taking in teens off the street, huh.”

Grover shrugged. “I can't help it, when you all look like you're about to die. But, uh, Luke’s not a teen, actually.”

“He isn't?”

“Nope, he's 25.”

“He's WHAT?”

Grover chuckled. “Yeah, that's what I thought too- they came in two years ago, so he was 23, and Thalia was 18, Annabeth 16. Thalia and Luke practically looked the same age- but maybe that says more about her stress levels than him, actually.”

“Jesus christ.” Percy breathed. “And I actually thought he was…” Percy trailed off, and bit his lip. Grover cocked his head slightly.

“What?”

“You know,” he mumbled nervously. He glanced at all the pride flags plastered around the house, and sighed. “Cute.”

“Oh, yeah,” Grover grinned, “me too. Don't worry, though, his personality will make you come to your senses.”

Percy raised an eyebrow. “Is he a dickhead?”

“Lil’ bit, yeah.”

“Then why don't you like,” Percy snorted, “I don't know, kick him out? It's your apartment.”

“Oh, no no no. I could never do that. And hey, he's not _insufferable_! He's just hard to deal with sometimes.”

“He gave me the creeps,” Percy huffed.

Grover raised an eyebrow. “You said you thought he was cute.”

“Yeah, well, maybe I like to live dangerously. Maybe some weird blonde guy with a scar over his eye that freaks out over my last name is my type.”

Grover snorted, “I certainly hope you have more types than that, because that's a very narrow category.”

Percy paused, and then looked over at Grover. He hesitated slightly, and then his eyes slid up and down the man quickly. Grover suddenly felt his heart lurch to his throat. “Yeah, well… Maybe I do.”

Silence fell over them.

“Right, uh- let me show you the other rooms!” Grover cleared his throat, and Percy followed him as he scampered through the wall to the right living room.


	2. The Gang Gets Introduced

Even though their home was three bungalows knocked together, there apparently wasn't actually much to show Percy. Each apartment had two small bedrooms and one bathroom, and while the tiny kitchen in the middle wing was separated from the living room by a wall, both of the other wings had chosen to knock those out as well. Percy asked if their landlord didn't ever visit, and Grover had shrugged aimlessly.

Silena and Clarisse shared a bedroom in the right wing, and Annabeth had the other one, sharing it with whichever one of Silena and Clarisse's - Honestly, mostly Silena's - friends needed a place to stay. Percy asked if she didn't ever get annoyed with that. Grover had given him a secretive smile and told him that it sure didn't _sound_ that way. Percy hadn't gotten the innuendo until they were in the left wing, where he was shown Zoë and Thalia’s shared room- Or, rather, the door, because there was a _‘no boys allowed’_ sign on the wooden surface. The other bedroom had been taken over by Bianca in the past year, as the young girl had slowly started moving in. Her roommate situation was the same as Annabeth’s, Zoë’s squad - their protest group had named themselves the Hunters of Artemis, which Percy thought was pretty fucking badass - switching out every few weeks. Sometimes the ones staying there would be able to fit in the two bedrooms, sometimes it would be a whole sleepover situation that made them take up the floor of the left wing.

Finally, they returned to the middle wing, to the room Percy had woken up in.

“Juniper sleeps in the other bedroom.” Grover finished up, and leaned against the wall while Percy rummaged a hand through his hair. Percy blinked, then looked up.

“Hey, what about Luke?”

“Oh,” Grover shifted uncomfortably, “we shared my room for a little bit, but, it didn't work out. He said he would rather sleep on the couch in the living room.”

“Bit harsh.”

Grover smiled and shrugged. “I get it. We don't really mesh too well.”

He pushed open the door to his bedroom and walked inside. Only then did Percy suddenly notice Grover was limping, following after him apprehensively. He looked around the small room after Grover flipped on the light, actually able to take in the surroundings now. The green covers on the bed were still messy from when Percy had thrown them aside to scramble out of the room, towards the voices in the kitchen. wrapped around the headboard were three separate strings of fairy lights, giving the otherwise shitty bed frame a nice flair. Right besides the bed stood Grover’s dresser, and Grover seemed to be one of the only people in the household that actually _used_ his, and not the floor. Aside from that, there was also a desk with an old-looking laptop on it, and then not much else.

...Well. There were a pair of crutches leaning against the foot of Grover’s bed. And, god, Percy _wanted_ to approach it more delicately, maybe not even right now, but his impulsive hell brain got the best of him.

“What's up with your leg?” He blurted out, and, well, there was no turning back now. Grover blinked, but then chuckled a little.

“Oh, uh, multiple sclerosis.” He said, simply, and nothing else for a few seconds. Then, he burst into laughter, and Percy had a feeling it was over the no doubt absolutely dumbfounded expression on his face. Grover calmed down, and smiled at him. “Autoimmune disease; it attacks your spine, which can affect any part of your body. For me, I got some pretty bad legs. My eyes aren't too stellar, either,” he elaborated, tapping his glasses.

“Damn,” Percy breathed, “that's rough,” he continued, because he had no idea what else to say. Grover shrugged.

“I deal. It's what we do, in these parts.” He paused in thought, and looked like he was about to say something, but reconsidered in the last moment and then just smiled at Percy. “Do you want to take a shower?”

There was actually nothing Percy wanted to do more in that moment. Well, eat was on the list too, but that could wait for now.

After going through his drawers three times, Grover skeptically pulled out a sweatshirt. It looked like it would be oversized on Grover, but a little bit of a tight fit on Percy. Percy happily took it anyways, and was led to the bathroom by Grover, given a quick crash course on how their shower worked, and was then left to his own devices.

Percy sighed in relief. He realized it was probably his first moment of real, _actual_ privacy in months. He took a look at himself in the mirror, and shivered. There was no other way to describe it:

He looked like shit.

His dark skin was streaked with dirt and sweat, his hair - well, his hair was always a mess, but right now it was _real_ bad. He had several small cuts and bruises, and his nostrils and cheeks were still stained with blood from the last time he got in a fight. He suddenly felt extremely grateful for Grover, even more so than before. Then, he turned away from the glass and started stripping; he didn't need to get a detailed look at his chest, because he knew it would be a worse sight. Instead, his eyes slipped to the sink while he fiddled with the water, and he snorted a little. There was a very wide variety of products lining the counter, from bleach and hair dye to intensive moisturisers. He wondered which belonged to which, but with all of the Hunters, it could be anyone.

Finally, he stepped under the shower head. It was too cold, and the stream was way too rough and concentrated on his skin, but it still felt _amazing._ He never wanted to get out again, actually, but he also thought it would be a little rude to run up their water bill, so he got finished relatively quickly. He grabbed a random towel from the rack, and enjoyed his last few moments of solidarity as he got dressed.

When he re-entered Grover’s room, the man was sitting on his bed, leg jiggling while he went through his phone. As he heard the door crack open he glanced up, and then smiled, sitting up straight while Percy closed it again.

“You look better!”

Percy snorted. “Thanks.”

“Do you feel the part?” Grover gestured to the chair by his desk, and Percy took the invitation, turning it around to face Grover before sitting down. He nodded.

“Yeah. Yeah, it really helped.”

“That's good to hear.” Grover grinned, running a hand through his wild curls. Percy smiled. He leaned back in the chair tensely, and then sighed a little.

“So, um. When do you want me out?”

Grover blinked. “What?”

“You know… I don't want to overstay my welcome. You can boot me whenever, you've already helped me enough.”

The man still looked confused. He let out a nervous chuckle. “Uh… Percy, you don't have to leave.”

Now it was Percy's turn to be baffled. “What?”

“I'm offering you a place to stay. That's why I showed you around at all, doofus.” Grover smiled.

“Wh-... _Why?_ ”

“Why not?” Grover shrugged.

“ _Why not-_ you don't even know me!”

“I don't know most of the people that end up living here,” Grover laughed. Percy stared at him.

“How… How are you so trusting? Aren't you worried I'm gonna… I don't know, steal something, or whatever?”

“Sure I would be, if we had anything worth stealing.”

That was an extremely good point.

“Still, though. I could be a lunatic. I could be waiting for the right moment to stab you in the neck with a butterknife.”

Grover shrugged, “I've had good enough luck with Annabeth, Thalia and Luke so far. And they've all had their moments where they looked like they wanted to do exactly that, but I'm still here, right?”

“Yeah, but…” Percy trailed off. He didn't know how to argue.

“Besides, you're pretty trusting, too. _We_ could be the weirdos. We did knock holes between our apartments, after all.”

Percy blinked, then shook his head. “No, this is- That's different.  You would've already done something as soon as you found me, probably.”

“Alright, good point. But, hey, don't worry about it!”

Percy continued staring at him in disbelief. Then he sighed, and shook his head with a smile. “Alright, when do I start paying rent?”

“Do you _have_ any money to pay the rent with?”

Percy pulled out the fabric of his pockets to demonstrate that, no, he did not.

Grover leaned forward and clapped his shoulder gently, and Percy fought back a flinch. “You can get a job and help out, eventually, but I need to make sure you don't, like… Pass out the moment you step outside.”

Percy snorted. “I'm good, I think.”

Grover smiled, and pulled back his hand. “That's good.”

A moment of silence passed between them. Percy couldn't stand that, his brain immediately jumping after a conversation starter. He grabbed the most obvious one.

“So, what are the roommates I haven't met yet like?”

“ _Whoof_ ,” Grover exclaimed, and then laughed a little. “It's… Hard to describe them, but I'll do my best. Who do you want to hear about first?”

Percy's eyes moved to the twinkling fairy lights, his leg jiggling in thought. “Thalia.”

A fond smile slipped over Grover’s features. “Grace. She's, uh… She's a handful. It's no surprise she survived so long on the streets by herself, she's the most intimidating person you'll ever meet.”

Percy laughed, “more than Luke?”

“ _Oh_ yeah. Luke was just an appetiser. She's the three-course meal. The trifecta of fear.”

“Okay,” Percy nodded, “she sounds intense.”

“She is _very_ intense. But, she's also wonderfully loyal, and she's got this intense passion for everything she does- It's incredible, Percy, you should see the fire in her eyes.”

Percy bit his lip, watching Grover’s expression slip into distant awe as he talked about the woman.

“You into her?”

Grover snorted. “No, Percy, god- She's a _lesbian_ ,” he wheezed, “I'd never even dream of looking at her that way.”

“Right,” Percy muttered out quickly, looking away in embarrassment. “Um, what about Juniper, then?”

“She's arguably the most laid back out of all of us, which makes sense, because she's literally everyone's dealer.”

“Oh.” Percy raised his eyebrows in surprise. Grover raised one of his.

“Come on, Percy- are you _really_ surprised this household gets high?”

Percy paused in thought, and then let out a laugh. “Actually, not at all.”

Grover nodded, “that's what I thought. Anyway, she's fun! We've known each other since we were 13, I think. We met at a summer camp.”

“She sounds nice. How about Clarisse and Silena?”

“Silena is _definitely_ the most well-put together tenant,” Grover chuckled, “she's really big on self care and stuff, she's got a cap on how much we're allowed to fuck up per month. Clarisse is more, um… Destructive. They balance each other out really well, actually.”

“Yeah, they sound like a good combo,” Percy agreed, though he had no idea what he was talking about. “Bianca?”

“Oh, Bianca is such a sweetheart. She's the youngest one here, 16 years old. She's one of Zoë’s hunters, started staying over here more and more frequently about a year ago. Now, she's officially moved in.”

“What's her situation, since she lives here?”

Grover gave him a crooked smile, “I don't think it's fair to share people's tragic backstories without permission.”

“...Yeah. Yeah okay, that's fair."

“So, those are all your new roommates.”

Percy nodded. “And they're all lesbians.”

“They're all lesbians,” Grover confirmed.

“That's… That's pretty cool,” Percy mumbled. “Speaking of, what about you? What are you, like, um… Specifically.”

“Human, mainly.” Grover snorted, then laughed harder at the exasperated look Percy gave him. “A gay human! What about you?”

“Cool,” Percy nodded, “I'm uh, bi. I think.”

“Well, there's plenty of room to figure it out here,” Grover smiled, and Percy found himself smiling back.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and a short woman appeared in the doorway. What she lacked in height, she made up for in both muscle and spirit, her freckled, pierced face full of excitement and determination as she smiled at Percy and Grover, her purposefully messy black hair falling onto her forehead.

“Goat dude, you went and did it _again!_ ”

Grover rolled his eyes and laughed. “What can I say; I'm wild like that, conehead.”

She strolled up to them and ruffled up Grover’s hair, then turned to face Percy, leather jacket creaking as she lifted her arm to offer him her hand, her stormy blue eyes meeting his.

“Pleased to meet you, I'm Thalia Grace.”

Yeah, that sounded about right. Percy took her hand and shook it. “Percy Jackson.”

“So, how'd you end up in the street?”

Percy paused, eyebrows raising over the brash question. Grover cringed a little beside her.

“That's very straightforward, Grace.”

Thalia shrugged. “He doesn't have to tell if he doesn't wanna.”

“It's fine,” Percy broke in, “I ran away from home.”

Thalia nodded. “Shitty family?”

“Shit dad.”

“Same. How long?”

“Four years. I was 14.”

“Jesus,” Grover exhaled, giving Percy a concerned look. “See, this is why I'm taking you in.”

Thalia smiled beside him and ran her fingers through his hair again, teasingly. “You're just too nice, Grover. Anyway,” she pulled back and looked over at Percy, face falling neutral again. “Zoë texted me about your arrival, so I brought home McDonald's. You hungry?”

‘ _Starving’,_ Percy thought, but chose to just nod eagerly. Thalia grinned, and gestured for him to follow as she left the room.

When the three came into the kitchen, there was yet another new woman there, unpacking the bags of junk food. Her long hair was tied back by a red bandana, and she wore combat boots over her military camo pants. She threw a wrapped up burger to Thalia, who caught it out of the air.

“Oh- Percy, meet Clarisse! And Clarisse, meet our new roommate,” Grover announced, and only then did Clarisse briefly turn her head to observe him. She gave him a scowl and then returned to the sorting. Grover gave Percy an apologetic smile. “Nothing against you, she's just grumpy because her and Thalia just got back from work.”

“It is something against him. He's a dude,” Clarisse responded. Grover shrugged.

“I guess it is, then. Sorry.”

Percy let out an awkward chuckle, and Thalia bumped her elbow against him.

“Don't worry, we don't all hate men in this household. Just most of us.”

Clarisse snorted, and Percy did actually grin a little then.

Moments later, they were sitting around the dinner table in the middle wing, where Annabeth and Zoë joined as well. Percy sat by the end of the table, Grover next to him, and Thalia with Zoë in her lap besides him. Clarisse was sitting the absolute farthest away from Percy, while Annabeth was on his other side. While the sound of paper being crinkled filled the air, Grover looked around in confusion.

“Where's Luke?”

Annabeth shrugged while she stole a fry from him. “He got really weird after you two left the kitchen, he just took his coat and left while you were showing Percy the Hunters’ hangout.”

“I guess I left an impression,” Percy laughed, dryly. Grover gulped.

“He usually only gets like that whenever he's reminded of...” Grover trailed off, and gave Annabeth a meaningful, nervous look. Annabeth sighed a little and nodded.

“Yeah. I know. I've been trying to figure it out.”

“He's probably fine,” Thalia broke in, though she sounded a little unsure as well. “It's been, what, three years since he left? What could Percy even have to do with that?”

“What the hell are you guys talking about?”

“Don't bother,” Clarisse answered him, “they're super mysterious about Luke’s past.”

“And for good reason!” Grover announced, and put his hand on Percy's shoulder, giving him a tense smile. “Don't worry about it, it's probably just a weird name coincidence. He was only strange about your last name, too, and it _is_ pretty common. There's probably no correlation.”

Grover sounded more like he was trying to talk himself out of the belief, but Percy nodded anyways. The conversation topic was left behind, and replaced by silence as they began dinner. The longer it lasted, the more anxious Percy got, which was why he eventually broke it.

“So, uh, where do I sleep?”

“My-” Grover was broken off by Zoë nearly immediately,

“Grover’s room.”

“If you _want_ to,” Grover added sheepishly.

Percy's eyebrows raised, and he laughed a little. “Alright, sure. But… You only have one bed? Actually, most of you do.”

“Oh, yeah, we usually share,” Grover started, then added hastily, “but I can get you a futon! I would offer you the bed, but um, my back doesn't do well on the floor.”

“No, that's fine- I'll take the futon,” he offered Grover a smile. Grover returned it.

Silence took over the room again, and Percy couldn't take it.

“So, uh… What do you all work as?”

“There _is_ such a thing as eating in peace,” Zoë commented, and Thalia squeezed her hip with a little smile.

“Let him. Me and Clarisse are bouncers at a nearby night club.”

Percy blinked. “But, didn't you just get home?”

“Uh… Yeah? It's 4:30 AM.”

Percy nearly choked on his fries. He looked at Grover in confusion. “Okay, wait- what's my timeline?”

Grover laughed, and leaned back in thought. “Um, okay, so… I don't know when you passed out, but I found you on the way back from a coffee run at a quarter to midnight-”

“You went for coffee at 11:45?” Percy broke him off, without meaning to.

“Don't coffee-shame me and Annabeth,Percy,” Grover huffed with a smile, then continued. “Anyway, you probably woke up, I don't know… Three hours later?”

“Alright… But, wait. You were drinking coffee again by then. Weren't you?”

Grover looked away bashfully while the girls around the table snickered. “Don't… coffee-shame _me,_ specifically, Percy,” he muttered.

“How bad is your heart rate right now?” Percy laughed.

“Hey, if anything has been the cause of anxiety tonight, it has been you, not my golden 7/11 nectar,” Grover nudged Percy's shoulder with his own, and Percy smiled.

“Sorry.”

Grover shook his head, “no need to apologize. Anyway! Work, yeah? Silena is a night guard for the library Annabeth works at.”

“Oh!” Percy nodded, then furrowed his brows and looked beside him to the blonde girl, “if you work during the day, why are you awake right now?”

“Insomnia,” she said simply, not looking up from the wiki she was scrolling through on her phone.

“Oh. Sorry.” She shrugged. He turned his head again, to look at Zoë. “What about you?”

“I work security at a shelter for abused women.”

Percy nodded again. That made a lot of sense.

“As for the rest of us,” Grover started, and Percy looked back at him. “I'm searching, at the moment. Juniper works at a flower shop, and Luke is a delivery driver for UPS. Bianca does part-time at Zoë’s shelter.”

“That's a wide career variety,” Percy breathed, and then yawned. Grover chuckled.

“Do you wanna go back to bed?”

 _‘A lot.’_ “A little, yeah.”

“Very understandable. Zoë, can I borrow a mattress?”

“Alright, if I get it back unscathed.”

Grover rolled his eyes, “what do you think we're planning to do with it besides _sleep?_ ”

Zoë shrugged, and got up from Thalia’s lap. “I'll bring it to your room.”

Grover smiled, and leaned up to bump her shoulder with his fist. “Thanks!”

Zoë brushed him off, but there was a small smile on her lips as well as she climbed through to the left wing.

Thalia leaned back and yawned. “I think I'm gonna head to bed, too,” she looked over at Clarisse and poked her side playfully. “And so should you.”

Clarisse shoved her hand away, and shook her head. “I'm waiting for Silena.”

“Alright, that's gay enough to be valid. See you nerds later, then; goodnight!”

They all echoed the goodnight back at her before she climbed through to the left wing, passing Zoë and giving her a peck on the cheek as she pulled a folded up mattress to the other side. Percy's eyes followed her into Grover’s bedroom, while Grover made small talk with Clarisse.

Finally, a quarter or so later, Percy was falling backwards onto the mattress with a satisfied sigh. Zoë had lended blankets and pillows as well, and Grover had by some mystery obtained sweatpants that would fit Percy. Percy had a suspicion that they might belong to Luke, but he was too exhausted to be moral about it. He closed his eyes as Grover shut off the bedroom lights and got to his own bed, listening to the shuffling of the covers and creaking of the mattress as the other got adjusted. Percy cracked open his eyes to look up at him, as he checked his phone before setting it to charge.

“Grover?”

“Hm?”

“Um… Thank you. For, you know. Everything. I think I might actually be dying, right now, if it wasn't for you.”

Grover leaned over the edge of the bed slightly, and smiled down at him warmly. “No problem, Percy. Can you sleep with the lights on?” He gestured to the headboard.

“Yeah, they're no issue,” Percy mumbled sleepily, and rubbed at his eyes. “Goodnight, Grover."

“Goodnight, Percy,” Grover rolled back over the edge, and went silent for a moment. Percy thought he might’ve gone to sleep, and closed his eyes, before the other spoke up softly. “Don't gouge my eyes out with a spoon while I sleep, or whatever else you were gonna use as a reason for why I shouldn't trust you.”

Percy laughed. “You would have it coming. But don't worry, I won't.”

“Good,” Grover chuckled, “sleep tight.”

“Likewise,” Percy muttered, and rolled over to get comfortable on the mattress.

It didn't take long before he fell asleep.


	3. The Gang Discusses Childhood Traumas

_5:05_

@Luke Castellan  where the hell are you

_5:17_

**sorry for being a man**

out

 

very descriptive thanks. when are you coming home?

 

**sorry for being a man**

why you need to know all up in my pussy

 

**Zoë Nightshade**

You are not allowed to reference that vine.

 

**sorry for being a man**

bite me

 

**Zoë Nightshade**

Gladly.

 

**sorry for being a man**

kinky

 

**Zoë Nightshade**

What?

 

**some sins can never be forgiven**

Castellan im plotting your murder as we speak

 

okay well thanks for nothing pal

 

**Death Breath**

hey thanks for waking me up you guys! (:

 

**some sins can never be forgiven**

BABY NEED SLEEP!!!!!

 

Grover got snapped out of the messenger conversation when Thalia repeated that same phrase in real life, yelling it so loud all three wings of the house could hear it muffled from her room. Moments later, he heard Bianca burst into laughter.

His head fell back against the pillow, and he bit his lip to contain a giggle of his own, trying to not wake Percy up. Thankfully, he slept through the distant yell.

Grover sighed, locked his phone and dumped it on the dresser as he turned to lay on his side. He looked down at Percy's sleeping frame, which appeared to be completely knocked out. Grover understood that. He seemed at least somewhat peaceful, sleeping, compared to when he was awake. Grover chewed at his lips nervously as he replayed the day - night - in his head, going over Percy's behavior. His shoulders had tensed up to his ears at every loud noise and small touch, and although he obviously attempted to suppress it, Grover was going to make an effort to not grab after him as loosely as he did with the others. Start treating him like he treated Zoë, maybe. He shifted to lay on his back again, tilting his head up to stare at the fairy lights around his headboard, slipping into counting the tiny, individual lamps like he always did.

One. He thought back to Percy and Thalia’s brief exchange in the room, _‘shit dad’_.

Ten. he thought back to how Luke, Annabeth and Thalia, and many of the Hunters, too, including Bianca, had behaved when they first started coming around.

Twenty-five. It was too easy to connect the dots. Grover’s hands met on his chest, as he anxiously picked at his nails.

Fourty. He hated how common it was, in this household. And he despised their abusers, more and more, every day. He tried to remain a pacifist, but it was hard, when he thought back to how young they all were. How young he was. He had been 15, when he ran away three years ago. Thalia, too. Annabeth had been 14, and so had Luke, when he ran away for the _first_ time. Bianca 13. It just got worse, and worse, and worse.

He ended the count on 120 and shut his eyes tightly, pressing his clenched fists over them, as if weighing himself down would suppress the shaky sobs that wanted to escape.

He was happier now, he just had to keep reminding himself of that. As bad as the memories of his old foster home was, he wasn't _there_ anymore, and he never had to be again. He was 19, now, they couldn't force him anywhere. He lowered his arms, and laid them over his chest again, feeling his heartbeat go back to normal.

He wasn't there anymore.

He wasn't there.

The only remainders of that life were Juniper, and his past could wrestle that girl out of his cold, dead hands. He was still unbelievably grateful for her taking him along as soon as she turned 18. Maybe that act of kindness was the reason he couldn't bare to leave anyone behind anymore, couldn't see someone suffering right on his doorstep and not _do_ something. Granted, maybe he didn't have to go so far as let them move in every time, but he hadn't felt a single scratch of regret since.

...Well.

Okay, that wasn't true. He opened his eyes and grabbed his phone again, checking the latest message from Luke once more. Still the same. He glanced up at the time, and held back a whine when he realised an hour had passed since when he wanted to fall asleep.

Screw it, then. He, as soundlessly as possible, got up from the bed and pulled his duvet along with him, stepping over Percy carefully before tiptoeing into the kitchen. For once, he made himself a cup of tea instead of a cup of coffee, and while the main reason may have been that they were running out of coffee grounds, he was still satisfied with himself.

He sat down at the miniature two-person table they had in the small kitchen, covers bunched around him while his leg jiggled and he mindlessly scrolled through his phone as he waited for his drink to cool. When he finally lifted the cup to take a sip, the front door opened, and he nearly dropped it again while he choked on a yell. He set the cup down while he turned, and his lips tightened when he realised who it was.

“Luke.”

Luke whipped around on his heel as he closed the door, evidently surprised to find anyone in the kitchen. He raised an eyebrow while he shrugged off his jacket.

“You really so worried you waited up for me?”

“I have other reasons for being unable to sleep than you,” Grover muttered as he turned back to his tea, pausing before letting out a sigh. “But yes, I was.”

There was a tense silence between them for a moment, and then Luke moved to pull out the other chair from the table, draping his jacket over it before sitting down.

“I just took a walk, Grover.”

“Yeah, after freaking out about Percy and leaving without a word.”

The corner of Luke’s mouth twitched at the mention of their new roommate, and he ran a hand through his short hair in aggravation. “It had nothing to do with him.”

“Really? It had nothing to do with the name Jackson?”

Luke flinched, “ _don't_ say it again.”

“Don't lie to me,” Grover retaliated, “something’s wrong. Does it have anything to do with _them?_ ”

Luke just glared at Grover for a few moments, long enough to make the man uncomfortably shift in his seat and pull the duvet tighter around himself. Then, he sighed and leaned his elbows on the table, burying his face in his hands.

“Yes.”

Grover stayed silent, waiting for Luke to elaborate. It seemed to work.

“You know I did a bunch of stupid shit when I was in there,” he breathed, lifting his head again.

“Obviously,” Grover nodded, “it was a stupid place.”

“Right. And… Fuck, I can't even think about it,” he went back to hiding in his palms, and Grover reached across the table, holding onto his shoulder firmly.

“Hey- don't, it's okay. You're okay. You're not in it anymore, and you were barely making conscious decisions when you _were_. It's okay.”

Luke’s face stayed hidden, but he leaned into Grover’s hand. Grover squeezed his shoulder softly, then ran it down the man's arm before pulling it away once Luke retreated from his hiding spot.

“Okay,” Luke muttered, looking down at the table. “I basically… I did a bunch of their dirty work. You know. Violent stuff,” he breathed, fidgeting with his hands. Grover’s eyes ran to his bruised and scarred knuckles, though that sight was nothing new.

Grover paused. “Did you ever kill anyone?”

Luke shook his head, almost violently. “ _Never_ that far.”

Grover nodded, an uneasy lump in his throat finally going down. “What's the worst you've ever done, then?”

Luke dug his fingers into the back of his hand, and his body tensed. “I-… We kidnapped someone. I think that's the worst of what I've done. I can't speak for the rest of them.”

Grover let out a shaky breath, and nodded. “...Who?”

Luke swallowed, and shook his head a little. “I never, I never really got a good look at her. But I think I-” he had to stop for a moment to sharply suck in air, “I think I saw her son. While we were doing it.”

“Sally,” a voice muttered from behind them. Grover whipped around in surprise, finding Percy standing in the doorway to his room, staring at Luke while he held onto the knob with a death grip. “Was- was her name Sally? Sally Jackson?”

Luke fell silent, his face paling. His eyes met Percy's, and they stared each other down, the same weird energy of recognition (and now absolute _hate_ ) in the air as when they first met within the house.

“Luke.”

Percy was trying to keep his voice even, but like the rest of him, it was beginning to quiver with anger.

Luke still didn't say anything.

“ _Luke._ ” Percy said again, tone even more unstable. “Did you take my mom?”

Luke snapped after air.

“I didn't,” he started, his voice breaking. Grover got to feel the smallest air of relief, before Luke finished speaking. “I didn't know her. I didn't know anything. I just did what they told me the titan king wanted.”

Percy started towards Luke, and Grover only barely managed to get out of his chair in time to hold Percy back by the chest. Luke scrambled backwards, knocking his seat over as he pushed himself back against the kitchen counter.

“You kidnapped my _fucking mom!”_ Percy yelled, and the anger and hurt in his voice put Grover’s heart on the edge of bursting, “you made my life a LIVING NIGHTMARE!”

“I'm sorry _,_ ” Luke whispered.

“What did you do to her?” Percy was seething, not listening to Luke, “did you hurt her? Did you kill her? I swear to god I'll tear your fucking head off and shove it up your-”

“What the hell is this yelling about?”

Thalia appeared in the doorway, in the loose t-shirt and shorts she slept in. She looked from Grover barely restraining Percy to Luke in confusion. Percy opened his mouth, clearly about to yell something, but Grover clapped his hand over it.

“Sorry, your account might be a little biased,” Grover muttered softly, then looked over at Thalia. “Um. Some revelations happened, I think. Keep Luke out of here for a moment?”

Thalia stared at Grover, then at Percy, before nodding slowly and waving Luke towards her. The blonde happily obliged, practically throwing himself towards the door to the living room. Percy stared daggers after him right until Thalia closed the door. Then, he directed them at Grover.

“Get off of me - what the _fuck?_ ”

Grover shifted uncomfortably and stepped back from Percy.

“Um,” he looked around the room to avoid looking at Percy, then pointed to the chair he had been sitting in. His tea had long since turned cold. “Sit down,please?”

Percy was still for a few seconds, but reluctantly obliged. Grover himself went to grab the chair Luke had been sitting on, hauling it up from where it had toppled to the floor before sitting down himself.

“First off,” Grover muttered softly, “...Why were you awake?”

“I was thirsty,” Percy replied. His tone was incredibly neutral compared to before, and Grover finally took the chance to glance up at his face, and found it matching.

“Right,” Grover nodded, paused, then sighed. “Well, I guess there's no way to ease into this. Luke, um… When Luke was 17 he got indoctrinated into a cult.”

“I- wait, what?” The neutral expression immediately got replaced by dumbfounded surprise, and had they been talking about anything else, Grover would've laughed a little.

“Yeah,” he nodded solemnly instead. “He's never actually talked a lot about what went down during, which, I get, but basically… How familiar are you with greek mythology?”

Percy blinked, and shrugged a little. “Um, I don't know. I know a few of the gods.”

“Any titans?”

Percy paused, and shook his head.

“Right. Um, a little crash course, then. The titans ruled the earth before the gods, and the gods themselves were almost all children of the titan king, Kronos. That's the titan Luke’s cult worshipped.”

“That's,” Percy breathed, “that's kind of insane.”

Grover did smile a little then. “Yes. Luke only got out when he was 22. Apparently they wanted to do some ritual with him? And that was the wakeup call.”

Percy nodded. Then a spark of anger returned to his face. “The hell does that have to do with him kidnapping my mom, though?”

Grover shrugged, helplessly. “I didn't even know he had done it until half an hour ago, you'll have to ask him yourself.”

“Then _let me_.”

Grover bit his lip. “I just,” he fidgeted nervously with his hands, and looked away. “I think you should be calm before you do.”

“How can I be calm when the man that took my mom away from me is under the same roof as me?”

“Fair point,” Grover wheezed, then sighed. “I'm… I can call for a household meeting. So you can talk to him, but we can all stop you from, like, killing him. But it would have to wait until tomorrow, after and before everybody's work hours.”

Percy leaned back, arms crossed over his chest. Then he huffed and looked away. “Fine. Deal.”

“Alright, good,” Grover nodded, and got up from his chair to go inform Thalia and Luke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so a little list of retcons i made bc i started this fic unplanned and now just realized Mistakes Were Made:
> 
> \- I removed Katie Gardner from the household bc i realised I know literally jack shit about her ? She fell off a pegasus somewhere but don't worry she's okay  
> \- I changed Percy's eye color, don't question this  
> \- I changed how old Percy was when he ran away from Gabe  
> \- I aged Thalia one year up to better match her and Jason’s canon difference, and you can consider why that matters Foreshadowing, my pals


	4. The Gang Starts Planning

“What did you do to her?”

The words flew out of Percy's mouth as soon as everyone was sitting down, and he stared intensely at Luke. The man shifted uncomfortably in his seat, adjusting the collar of his UPS uniform.

“Very straightforward, aren't you?” He muttered, undoing the top button before letting his hands fall to the table. Percy raised himself from his chair abruptly, and Luke flinched backwards in surprise, but Grover pulled him down again by the shoulder.

“Percy, _no_. No killing, that was the whole purpose of this deal.”

“What kind of deal did you _make?_ ” Annabeth broke in, looking from Luke to Percy in confusion, “how did you guys become mortal enemies in, what, five seconds?”

“Yeah, when Clarisse texted me, this wasn't how I expected our first meeting to go, Jackson,” Silena added, flipping her long, black hair over her shoulder.

Percy glanced over at her, and his heart got caught in his throat for a second, just like the first time he saw her. She was absolutely breathtaking; the.very culmination of a high femme lesbian, but Percy quickly shook it off again, muttering, “the only person that should be explaining here is Castellan.”

Grover helplessly looked to Percy with pleading eyes, and for a second he found himself willing to calm down, but he clutched the anger back to himself desperately. He had to hold onto it, because if not, he would just start bawling over his mom. He was still refusing to even let his memories resurface. Instead, he focused on glaring at Luke.

“Fine, whatever!” Luke exclaimed, annoyance clear in his voice, “I guess we'll just air out my dirty laundry for the world to see. You want that with or without cum stains?”

“ _LUKE._ ” Thalia broke him off, staring the man down angrily while she protectively put her arm around Bianca's shoulders. Luke rolled his eyes.

“She's 16, Thalia.”

“And you're a dirtbag asshole. _Don't._ ”

Luke leaned back and crossed his arms in irritation. Grover sighed in resignation.

“Well, this is going _great,_ ” he muttered quietly as he lifted his mug to take a sip from his third cup of coffee of the day. Juniper, sitting on the opposite side of him as Percy, wrapped an arm around his shoulders and gave him a tight sidehug.

“Okay- let's actually start this meeting like we usually do,” she decided, and looked to Grover. “Grovcy, why did you call for it?”

Grover’s ears went pink. “I've told you not to call me that in front of other people, Junebug,” he mumbled to her, quickly stealing a nervous glance at Percy before straightening up a little. “Uh, so, half of you are probably wondering why you were woken up by Percy yelling last night, right?”

“Yes,” Zoë agreed, arms crossed as she gave Percy a pointed look. That was the one thing that got him to look away uncomfortably.

“Well…” Grover paused, and sighed, looking to Luke apologetically, “I'm sorry, Luke, but it _does_ start with you. Do you want me to talk about it, or?”

“I can do it myself,” Luke grunted, staring down at the table.

“Oh, shit,” Clarisse raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him, “are we unlocking your tragic backstory here?”

Luke sent her a glare. “I'm not giving you _all_ of it. Only the relevant bits.”

“Out with it, then.”

He rolled his eyes, but still couldn't hide the nervous twitch in his lip. He shifted a little in his chair, and glanced around at the faces peering - glaring, in Percy’s case - at him. Percy could see his nails digging into his overarms, and for a second he felt a little bad, but only just.

“So,” Luke started, discomfort present in his tone, “I know I said I became homeless when I was 22, and that was the first time ever, but that's not true. I ran away from home when I was 16, and spent around a year on the streets, but-” his voice died, and he further tensed up. He took a deep, shaky, breath, and Percy couldn't tell if it was from remorse or anger. Maybe both. “I got taken in by an… Organisation.”

Percy raised an eyebrow, and Grover made a face. “That's a very light way to put it, Luke,” he muttered.

“I look like I give a shit?” Luke snapped, and seized up for a moment when everyone at the table gave a flinch at his raised voice. “Sorry, Grover,” he huffed. “They had me do some questionable actions. And some of it involved Percy's mom, apparently.”

Luke leaned back, like he was completely finished and that was all there was to tell. Percy felt anger bubble up in his chest again, and he abruptly stood up, sending the same flinch through the table. He could apologize for that later, but right now he didn't care, and he wouldn't let himself be pulled down again by Grover’s hand on his shoulder, leaning over the table instead to glare at Luke.

“If you think you're fucking done there, you're _delusional-_ I don't care how bad it makes you feel, tell me why you took her!”

Luke had scooted backwards in his chair, but now anger painted his expression as well. “ _Why?_ Why the fuck does it even matter? It happened six years ago, what the fuck am I supposed to do about it besides feel bad?”

“Find her,” Percy's voice broke. He knew it was unrealistic, and he could tell from Luke’s expression that he thought so as well, but he didn't care. “You don't- you don't understand. My mother was - _is,_ ” he refused to believe she was gone, “the most amazing woman in the world. You have _no idea_ the shit we've gone through. I would tear apart the entire world to find her, and if you're what's standing between me and that goal, then _so be it,_ ” he hissed out the last words, and Luke looked sufficiently frightened. Percy dumped back down again, and crossed his arms over his chest. “Don't hold back on the details. I want those sheets _with_ cum, please, if it's going to bring her back to me.”

Silence fell over the table, and Percy stared down at it to not have to see everyone else's reactions.

“Right,” Luke cleared his throat, and sighed. “The… The organization. It was a cult,” he muttered, “and I was in it until I turned 22. The reason I left is, they… They brought in these new members to our headquarters- _children,_ kids, the oldest one 15 at _best_ , and I couldn't, couldn't stomach that. Plus, they wanted to do a ritual with me I felt weird about. So. I left.”

“What did they worship?”

The voice was small and careful, and when he looked up Percy realised it came from Bianca. Luke looked baffled by the question for a moment, but shook it off.

“Uh- A titan, from greek mythology. The second king of the gods.”

“Kronos?” Annabeth inquired, and Luke nodded, though he flinched at hearing the name spoken out loud. Bianca had a weird look on her face, but she just nodded and folded her hands on the table, looking away.

“And, uh,” Luke started, then paused and bit his lip, looking to Percy. “Jackson. Do you know who your dad is?”

Percy blinked, then shook his head hesitantly. Luke heaved a sigh,

“right. Well, uh… I do, kind of- one of three options, anyway. And I know he's very powerful. And… That's why we kidnapped your mom. She was an affair, sure, but there was plenty evidence he was still dedicated to her and keeping her safe-”

“That's… That's some fucking bullshit. Why the _hell_ was he never around, then?” Percy spat, “why did he let her marry my step-dad if he wanted to keep her _safe?_ ”

Luke shrugged a little, “beats me. Though why she would be interested in Gabe in the first place is just as confusing.”

Percy seized up and took in a harsh breath. “How do you know his name.”

“We did our research,” Luke stated, “we had to, because we were going to use her as blackmail. And we did. They did. I mostly had to do with the kidnapping part. It was before I really… Rose in the ranks.”

“Yeah? Get popular with the cult leaders up top, did you?” Percy sneered.

Luke clenched his fists and looked away, a grimace on his face. “You wanted to know the details. Shut the hell up.”

“And I still need _more._ Did you let her go? Do you have any idea where she is?”

Luke shrugged, and somehow that infuriated Percy even more, enough to get him to raise himself from his chair again.

“ _Down,_ Jackson,” Thalia huffed next to him, yanking him back down again. Next to her, Bianca's olive skin had gotten pale.

“Um,” she started, quietly, “is there any way to… To get in touch with them? Maybe we could find someone who knows more than Luke. It's been five years, since he left.”

“Yeah, as much as I enjoy anybody yelling at Castellan, I don't think he's useful on this topic. Or most topics,” Clarisse added, and was sent yet another glare by Luke.

“I don't know. I don't-...” Luke paused, like he suddenly remembered something, then shook his head. “No, I don't have connections to anyone involved with them anymore.”

Percy narrowed his eyes at him, “are you _sure?_ ”

“ _Yes_ , I'm sure, boy detective,” Luke rolled his eyes, but Percy swore he could sense a nervous edge to the drawl.

“I might,” Bianca added quietly. Everybody turned to stare at her in surprise, which only seemed to make her more nervous. “I-I mean, I… Maybe.”

“Who?” Luke asked, and Bianca looked down.

“Um, he…” her voice cracked, and she shook her head, “no- no, nevermind, I don't even… I don't know, I might not actually have contact with him anymore. Forget I said anything.”

“...Bianca,” Zoë said, quietly, with the most gentle voice Percy had ever heard from the fierce woman, “is this about him?”

Bianca tensed up, seemingly knowing the prize winning answer to Zoë’s pronoun game. She didn't look like she wanted to win, though. She was still for a moment, then shook her head weakly.

“Bianca,” Zoë repeated, just as softly, “please don't lie. Is this how you really lost contact with your brother?”

Bianca covered up her face with her hands, concealing the eyes already wet with tears. Then she nodded.

“Oh, Bianca-” Thalia wrapped an arm around her shoulder and held her close.

“Was…” Luke’s voice trembled, “Is your brother named Nico?”

Bianca let out a sob and nodded. Luke’s whole posture seemed to slump, and he leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling. “He's the reason I left,” he muttered. Bianca's breath hitched, and another sob escaped her lips.

“Bianca... How? How did that happen?” Silena asked, with the same care as Zoë and Thalia.

“I… I didn't lie, about being kicked out of our foster home once we both came out,” she stuttered out through messy, uneven breaths, “but we _both_ were. I didn't leave him behind- I could never leave him behind, never in my life,” she gasped after air, and fruitlessly tried to dry off her tears in her sleeve. “The only homeless shelter that would take us in we could find, was… They owned it. They ran it. And they used the opportunity to indoctrinate us, and every single other vulnerable person in that house. I didn't listen, but Nico, he-” Bianca's voice was broken off by another sob, but she managed to get her voice under control again quickly, “when I spoke up against it, and they kicked me out, he didn't follow me. I haven't spoken to him since.”

Thalia hugged the shaking girl tighter to her, and Zoë leaned in as well to rub her back softly. Silence fell over the room, an uncomfortably heavy one, until Luke finally broke it.

“I lied,” Luke muttered, still staring up at the ceiling. “I do know someone from the cult. He's still in this city.”

Percy tried to keep his temper under control over Luke being such a snake, and managed to talk in an only moderately shaky tone. “ _Name?"_

“Ethan. Ethan Nakamura.”

“I think we should pay Ethan a visit,” Annabeth decided.


End file.
